Zebra Finch Questions - New Owner

[DAGreen]

Hi everyone, I am a new owner to zebra finches and have some questions. I have owned a male and female zebra finch for almost a year and although my finches have been laying eggs for months none have ever hatched...until a week and a half ago (possibly 2 weeks ago) And so now I have 5 baby zebra finches and a lot of questions. The babies seem to be doing really well and the parents are taking good care of them, they all look well feed, growing big, and have not lost one yet. I was just wondering at about what age do they leave the nest? They are getting pretty big and there doesn't look like there is much room left in the nest, could too small of a nest be harmful to them? Also when can I separate the babies from their parents? I only have a small cage to fit two maybe three birds comfortably. Thankfully I have some family members that will take some of the birds so four will have a home and I am wondering what to do with the fifth? Can you have three zebra finches in once cage together or do they have to be paired off in even numbers? If not where can I bring the fifth baby bird? Will a pet store take them from me? Also is it okay to put two males together and two females so they can't breed with their siblings or do they have to be a mixed gender pair? Also at what age will we be able to distinguish if its male or female? I know how to tell the difference just fine. And is it possible to have two parents that are fawn/gray color have all white baby Zebra finches? Three of my baby birds look so far like they will be similar to the parents while two look as if they will be all white. They are only a couple weeks old so I don't know for sure their all over coloring so I was just wondering if the white birds will lose their white feathers are some point or if they stay the same color from birth to adult. My last question is how to stop the parents from trying to breed again. I never really anticipated to have babies..the lady at the pet store said the eggs rarely hatch and my grandma had birds for years that never had eggs hatch and yet mine did Lol so I'm wondering how to prevent baby birds hatching again (at least in the near future) without separating the pair because I really like them and I think they love each other Lol any help or advice is very much appreciated and I hope to hear from someone soon

 

[Veer67]

Well you can't really stop a finch from breeding unless you remove one of them. You could try to use fake eggs the next time they decide to hatch a clutch, or just shake up the eggs they have laid and set them back in the nest. They should eventually get the idea that the eggs won't hatch and stop incubating, but I bet in a few weeks they'll try hatching a new clutch again. Most of the time I find myself taking the eggs out and throwing them away (but I've read that this makes them lay more eggs). I also remove the nest too, the female zebra finch will still lay eggs (which is normal) and are usually found in the ground. Sometimes, the pair will start nesting in the feeders when deprived from their nest.
Also from my experience, zebra finch eggs (fertile ones) are very easy to to hatch! I've hatched one myself, and once in a while I find that a pair has brooded some eggs for a while without my knowing! They hatch like popcorn!
I would also love to see some pictures of the chicks and parents (then maybe I may help find out their colors)!

Also

 

[DAGreen]

Thank you for responding, I really appreciate it I think I will try taking the nest out and see what that does for them...hopefully that will help them from hatching any of the eggs she lays. I will certainly try to get pictures of them as soon as possible I'm just not sure how or when to handle the babies. They are around 2 weeks, should I wait to handle them until they have left the nest? Thanks again for replying!

 

[Veer67]

Thank you for responding, I really appreciate it I think I will try taking the nest out and see what that does for them...hopefully that will help them from hatching any of the eggs she lays. I will certainly try to get pictures of them as soon as possible I'm just not sure how or when to handle the babies. They are around 2 weeks, should I wait to handle them until they have left the nest? Thanks again for replying!

I usually hand raise my zebra finch babies, so I'm not sure about that question. I think handling them at a younger age will help get them more used to humans. Although, they probably won't get as tame as hand raised finches, but may trust you enough to perch on your hand.

 

[DAGreen]

Well you can't really stop a finch from breeding unless you remove one of them. You could try to use fake eggs the next time they decide to hatch a clutch, or just shake up the eggs they have laid and set them back in the nest. They should eventually get the idea that the eggs won't hatch and stop incubating, but I bet in a few weeks they'll try hatching a new clutch again. Most of the time I find myself taking the eggs out and throwing them away (but I've read that this makes them lay more eggs). I also remove the nest too, the female zebra finch will still lay eggs (which is normal) and are usually found in the ground. Sometimes, the pair will start nesting in the feeders when deprived from their nest.
Also from my experience, zebra finch eggs (fertile ones) are very easy to to hatch! I've hatched one myself, and once in a while I find that a pair has brooded some eggs for a while without my knowing! They hatch like popcorn!
I would also love to see some pictures of the chicks and parents (then maybe I may help find out their colors)!

Also

 

[DAGreen]

Hey sorry its taken me so long to get back on here, its been a crazy week! But here are a few pictures of the baby birds, I only got three of the five baby birds and as you can see they are coming out of the nest! They have even come all the way out but after a little while they go back to the nest.

You can see the mom and dad bird on here

Will these birds keep these colors or is there a chance they might change? And how soon can I tell whether they are male or female?

 

[Veer67]

Hey sorry its taken me so long to get back on here, its been a crazy week! But here are a few pictures of the baby birds, I only got three of the five baby birds and as you can see they are coming out of the nest! They have even come all the way out but after a little while they go back to the nest.

You can see the mom and dad bird on here

Will these birds keep these colors or is there a chance they might change? And how soon can I tell whether they are male or female?

The finches will mostly keep their base color and eventually add in more mature feathers that may show their gender. The last picture looks like a fawn or recessive silver zebra finch, or it might be a regular gray, though it's kind of hard to tell with the picture.
Here's a good site for beginners with different mutations (though there are a lot more mutations if you dig around online): http://www.efinch.com/varieties.htm I remember there was a better one, but I can't seem to find it.
One of the easiest ways of determining the gender is to wait and listen. It is said that at earliest around day 21, the males will start "gargling" and experimenting on their songs. Although, I usually discover this much later on day 35 or so on...
Also, after they lose the black door in their beak, and are mature, males will have red beaks while females have orange beaks. And depending on the mutation, when a chick's adult feathers grow in, males will have an orange cheek patch behind their black tear mark (as seen in your father finch). On the side of the body underneath the wing, a sort of earthy red clay or mahogany colored long patch speckled with white dots will also signify finches as males.

I haven't had zebra finches for a while, and I wish I took better notes on them when I still had the bunch! Anyways, hope this helps.

 

[Pennyj78]

Thank you for responding, I really appreciate it I think I will try taking the nest out and see what that does for them...hopefully that will help them from hatching any of the eggs she lays. I will certainly try to get pictures of them as soon as possible I'm just not sure how or when to handle the babies. They are around 2 weeks, should I wait to handle them until they have left the nest? Thanks again for replying!

Hi its best u wait for them to come out of the nest which should happen around 14 and 21 days old let them all adjust outside of the nest for a day then u can put a finger should stop however come 4 weeks I found there rather not get on ur finger I'm gonna wait till the fully weaned then try again with food in hand also remove the nest as soon as all babies r out otherwise mum and dad may produce another clutch mine r 4 weeks old and mum and dad already trying to mate again and separate them from mum and dad at 6 weeks old it's amazing time goodbluck